


Forest of the Mind

by jadztone



Series: Sherlock Nanowrimo [12]
Category: Sherlock (TV), The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Crack, Gen, a bit of nonsense, a wink towards Narnia, not technically a crossover?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 03:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadztone/pseuds/jadztone
Summary: John snoops around Mycroft's bedroom and finds a whole other world in his wardrobe.  (no, not Narnia)





	Forest of the Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series of stories I wrote for Nanowrimo and posted on my tumbler page, sherlock-nanowrimo.tumblr.com. I was doing a story a day, generally leaving them open-ended if I wanted to add on to the story later in the month. The ones that I did add on to will be posted on AO3 as multiple chapters. They will all be posted as complete, with no expectation that I will ever revisit them. I haven't changed them from the way they were posted on tumblr, they have their issues, but I like to think of them as diamonds in the rough. The stories contain multiple crossovers with other fandoms, and multiple ships.

John stared around him in fascination.  He’d never been in Mycroft’s home before.  Finally, he would get a few more clues into who this man was.  As puzzling as Sherlock was, Mycroft was even more so. He was on his way back to the foyer after stopping in at the bathroom.  He felt a bit disappointed with the surroundings.  Everything was so generic.  There were no personal touches at all.  As he passed one room, he saw the door was open and peeked inside.  It was a bedroom.  Checking the hallway, he saw that no one was coming and popped into the room.  

Like the rest of what he’d seen so far, it was extremely generic.  The wardrobe was nice, though.  In fact, John thought as he examined it some more, it was exquisite. The wood was a very rich color, and gleamed in the light.  The inlays were beautifully designed.  The overall design seemed otherworldly.  Even the knobs were in the shape of an ivy leaf.  He was reaching out to touch one, when a thumping noise startled him.  Did that…did that actually come from inside the wardrobe?  Good god, Mycroft wasn’t keeping someone in there, was he?  There was another thump.  John swallowed hard and grasped the knob and pulled.

There were clothes hanging on a rod.  Suits like the ones Mycroft wore.  The wardrobe must be backlit, because a light appeared when he had opened the door.  He was about to shut the door when he felt a breeze.  Frowning, he pushed the suits to one side.  He was astonished to see that there was no back to the wardrobe, and what appeared to be trees beyond the edge of it.  He saw a couple of acorns lying on the floor of the wardrobe.  That must have been the noises he heard, the acorns fell from the trees into the wardrobe.  

Holy hell, was this bloody Narnia?  Had he discovered Narnia in Mycroft’s wardrobe?  He was probably losing his mind, but he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to check out Narnia.  He climbed into the wardrobe and then jumped the two feet down to the ground.  He looked around.  It was completely forested.  No clearings or dwellings that he could see.  He wondered if he should go any further.  What if he got lost?  There were no clear landmarks to help lead him back here.  He didn’t have anything in his pockets that he could use to make a trail.  

As he contemplated his options, he heard a noise in the distance.  It sounded like something was walking through the forest, he could hear leaves crunching.  Mr. Tumnus, maybe?  He decided to see if whoever it was came near him.  Sure enough, a few moments later, a figure appeared.  As he got closer and closer, John could see that it wasn’t Mr. Tumnus – he had a regular humanoid body.  It was a man with long dark hair and a thick beard.  He had on a coat with a wide collar made of fur.  He looked quite fierce.  

The man wasn’t walking directly towards him, but would definitely pass him at a distance.  John was deciding whether to call out to him, when the man spotted him.  He looked quizzical, and changed his direction to come straight towards John.  Well, hopefully he was friendly, because he definitely looked like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.  When the man finally arrived at where he was standing, John’s concerned went down considerably.  The man was about five inches shorter than him.  He had a very wide, muscular frame, just happened to be very short.  

The man’s expression had been neutral as he approached.  But now that he was a few feet away, he looked John up and down, his expression one of astonishment.  “Bilbo! What sorcery is this?”

John held his hand up. “There’s no need for name calling, mate. I just arrived here, I don’t know where I am.”

The man frowned.  “Don’t know where you are?  You’re in Bree, of course.  Hobbiton is just a short walk from here.  How could you not know Bree?  Has someone stolen your memory as well made you grow almost three feet?”

Well, so much for this being Narnia.  “Hang on, three feet?  You think I’ve grown three feet?  I think you might have me confused with someone else. “

“Are you not Bilbo Baggins of Bag End?”

“Bilbo..oh, you weren’t cursing at me earlier.  You think I’m someone named Bilbo.  Who’s even shorter than me.  No, I’m afraid not.  My name’s John.  John Watson.”

He held out his hand. The man grasped it in his own.  “I am Thorin Oakenshield.  I was actually coming to visit you…I mean Bilbo.  The resemblance is extraordinary.  You even sound like him.  The only difference is your height and…”  Thorin looked down.  “You’re wearing shoes.”

John looked down at his shoes.  “Well, why wouldn’t I?”

“Hobbits don’t wear shoes. You’re not a hobbit.  You must be a man.”

“Yes, just like you. What’s a hobbit?”

Thorin shook his head. “I am not a man, I’m a dwarf.  How do you not know hobbits and dwarves?”

“Because I’m not from around here.  I thought maybe this was Narnia, and it’s not, but it’s certainly not London.  Look, I should get back there.  I want to explore more of your world, but I have a friend I’d want to come with me. And I’d want to be better prepared so I could find my way back to the wardrobe.  It was nice meeting you, Mr. Oakenshield.”  Thorin seemed like he wanted to question John further, but he nodded and then turned towards his original destination.  

John turned, and was relieved to see that the opening of the wardrobe was still there.  He climbed up into it and then exited the wardrobe on the other side, back in Mycroft’s room.  He left the room and went back to the foyer where Sherlock was waiting. Sherlock looked at him impatiently. “Are you ready to leave now?  You were gone a very long time.”  

“No, we can’t leave yet. Sherlock, I’ve seen the most amazing thing.  In Mycroft’s room, there’s a wardrobe..”

Sherlock grimaced.  “Oh dear.  You discovered the wardrobe, I see.  Really John, it’s rude to snoop in other people’s wardrobes.”

“I only opened it because I heard noises!  They were acorns that dropped from….hang on.  You have that look like you know what I’m about to say.  Except you can’t possibly know what I’m about to say.  I mean that literally, it is impossible.”

“Were you going to say that you found yourself in a forest?  Perhaps you met someone that wasn’t human?”

John’s eyes widened.   “You’ve been there?  You’ve been there and you never told me!?”

“I couldn’t tell you, because it’s not my secret to tell.  It is after all Mycroft’s mind palace, not mine.

“Wait, what?  That other world beyond the wardrobe is Mycroft’s mind palace?”

“Yes.  He created it when he was a boy and one day it just manifested itself in his wardrobe.  Ever since then he’s had to move the wardrobe with him wherever he lives, even though it’s too whimsical for his tastes.

John stared at him in amazement.  “Is that why there’s someone there that looks like me?  Except he’s apparently only 3 feet tall?”

Sherlock smirked.  “That would be Bilbo.  Be thankful that you look like yourself, albeit a little shorter. You know what he imagines me as? A dragon.  A fire breathing, gold hoarding dragon.”

John let out a bark of laughter.  “Maybe it’s because every time the two of you are together, all you do is smoke.”

Sherlock chuckled.  “Let’s go, John.  Mycroft will soon realize you’ve been invading his personal space, and he won’t be happy.  He’ll probably curse Bilbo in some way.  Maybe make him obsessed with gold as well.”


End file.
